Prevention Efforts in Jr High Said Not To Curb Later Drug Use

School-based programs to combat adolescent drug use lose their
effectiveness once the lessons have ended, a team of RAND Corporation
researchers has concluded in a new report.

The report, "Preventing Adolescent Drug Use: Long-Term Results of a
Junior High Program,'' released last week, is the first study to
evaluate the lasting effects of a comprehensive drug-prevention program
developed by RAND on middle and high school students.

Earlier studies have shown that well-designed drug-prevention
programs for adolescents can reduce illegal use of drugs, particularly
marijuana, by as much as 50 percent in the short term.

But the new study concludes that "it is unlikely early prevention
gains can be maintained without additional prevention efforts during
high school.''

In the seven-year study, 7th and 8th graders in 30 schools in
California and Oregon were taught the "Project Alert'' curriculum
developed by RAND to help students acquire the motivational skills to
resist drugs. Students were queried annually from the 7th through 12th
grades on their knowledge about and use of drugs.

3,600 Students

The 3,600 randomly selected students were divided into three groups.
One group was taught about the dangers of cigarettes, marijuana, and
alcohol by an adult health educator, while the second group was taught
by an adult teacher and two "teen leaders'' from neighboring high
schools. A control group did not receive the curriculum.

For homework, students completed quizzes based on class discussions
and read drug-education brochures.

Early results showed that the program "significantly reduced''
current, weekly, and daily cigarette smoking among 8th graders who had
previously experimented with tobacco. One-third fewer students at that
grade level had tried cigarettes or marijuana for the first time
compared with students who were not enrolled in Project Alert
classes.

The program also curbed cigarette and marijuana use equally in
schools with high and low minority populations and had a "significant
impact'' both on adolescents who had never used either substance and on
those who had, the report says.

Disappearing Effects

By the 9th grade, however, "the positive impact had disappeared,''
the study says.

Students in the treatment programs retained a knowledge of the
negative consequences of drug use through the 10th grade, but did not
substantially alter their behavior in later grades, the study says.

Among 7th graders in the "teen leader'' group who reported using
marijuana regularly, researchers "found a reduction of nearly 50
percent in weekly marijuana use immediately after the 7th-grade
lessons.'' But one year later, the reduction in use shrank to 25
percent and ceased to be statistically significant, the report
says.

The data demonstrate that continued drug use, especially among
students who have already experimented with drugs or alcohol, is a
difficult habit to break, said Phyllis L. Ellickson, the study's lead
author and a senior behavioral scientist at RAND.

"Very few adults are able to quit smoking on their first attempt,''
Ms. Ellickson noted. "Even successful quitters typically try to stop at
least three times over a period of several years. The same pattern
applies for drug [use].''

Another reason that drug use continues through high school despite
educational efforts is that students are increasingly exposed to
opportunities where drugs are readily available, she added.

"Kids just don't all of a sudden become immune to peer pressure when
they make the transition into high school,'' Ms. Ellickson said.

"Adolescents are probably more vulnerable to drug use and need
continued reinforcement and support during those high school years,''
she added.

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